Property/casualty insurance rates fall again: Analysis

Commercial U.S. property/casualty insurance rates fell an average of 3% in June compared with a year ago, according to Dallas-based electronic insurance exchange MarketScout.

“Halfway through 2010, it appears the U.S. property and casualty market is stuck in a moderating but continuing soft market,” MarketScout CEO Richard Kerr said in a statement announcing the findings.

Mr. Kerr noted that the two largest market segments tracked by MarketScout—commercial property and general liability—registered 4% decreases. But crime insurance “actually increased 1%, perhaps because of increased losses which may have developed throughout the economic downturn,” he said.

“A good measurement of market position for the balance of this year will be the composite rate for July, as it is the second-largest renewal month each year,” Mr. Kerr said.